Essex Prosecutor to look at accident involving car that Newark police had been pursuing

View full sizeGoogle MapsA Jeep crashed at the intersection of 18th Avenue and 18th Street shortly after Newark police gave up pursuit, hitting three pedestrians.

NEWARK —The Essex County Prosecutor’s Office is investigating an accident in Newark last night in which three pedestrians were injured by a rolling vehicle that police had just stopped pursuing, said Anthony Ambrose, the prosecutor’s chief of detectives.

One of the injured was a toddler and near midnight, Ambrose said the child was in critical condition. The other two pedestrians were treated at University Hospital in Newark for non-life-threatening injuries, said Newark Police Department spokesman Detective Hubert Henderson

The crash, just before 7:30 p.m., came “moments” after police stopped chasing a red Jeep, carrying two juveniles, sought in connection with a shooting and robbery in the North Ward two hours earlier, according to Henderson.

The Jeep continued toward 18th Avenue and 18th Street, where it struck a vehicle waiting at the traffic light, he said, propelling that vehicle into a nearby fence. The Jeep then flipped several times, hitting the pedestrians and landing in front of a convenience store, he said.

The incident is being investigated jointly by the prosecutor’s office and police, Ambrose said, adding the investigation is customary when a pursuit leads to serious bodily injury.

Police withheld the names of the occupants of the Jeep because they are juveniles, Henderson said. But they are to be arrested after treatment at University Hospital, he said.